Like much of his work to date, Scott Esposito’s new book The Doubles evades easy categorization, yet also overwhelms the reader with a sense of its author’s personality and aesthetics. It encompasses several years in Esposito’s life, weaving in his impressions on one film that he saw in that year. The resulting book blends artistic disciplines, gives a fantastic sense of its author’s approach to film, and does a number of bold things with narratives along the way. I asked Esposito some questions about creating the book, which he kindly answered.

Sudden Death, the second novel by Álvaro Enrigue to be translated into English, features a look at history unlike any other. Enrigue juxtaposes historical obsessions, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and the creation of art through an unlikely lens: the game of tennis. The result makes for a work that’s thrilling, epic in its scope, and features a number of nestled tragedies along the way. I spoke with Enrigue about the process of writing the novel and his work with translator Natasha Wimmer. An edited version of our conversation follows.